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Freshwater Pearls
Cultured freshwater pearls are pearls that are farmed and created using freshwater mussels. These pearls are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale, but are now almost exclusively produced in China. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires that farmed freshwater pearls be referred to as "freshwater cultured pearls" in commerce. Quality of cultured freshwater pearls is evaluated through a grading system of a series of A values, based on luster, shape, surface, colour and matching. Current and historic industry Pearls gathered in the wild from the Holarctic saltwater pearl mussel were important sources of pearls for modern jewelry, with Scotland a major source; this species is now endangered in most areas. Although the Japanese freshwater pearl industry has nearly ceased to exist, it has a normal historic place as the first country to cultivate whole freshwater pearls, which it did in Lake Biwa, using the Biwa pearly mussel (''Hyriopsis schlegeli''). The in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Necklace
A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea (e.g. the Mediterranean Sea), or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water. The salinity of water bodies varies widely, being lower near the surface and the mouths of large rivers and higher in the depths of the ocean; however, the relative proportions of dissolved salts vary little across the oceans. The most abundant solid dissolved in seawater is sodium chloride. The water also contains salts of magnesium, calcium, potassium, and mercury, among other elements, some in minute concentrations. A wide variety of organisms, including bacteria, protists, algae, plants, fungi, and animals live in various marine habitats and ecosystems throughout the seas. These range vertically from the sunlit surface and shorelin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Kasumigaura
is the second-largest lake in Japan, located 60 km to the north-east of Tokyo. In a narrower sense and officially, Lake Kasumigaura refers to a waterbody with an area of 167.63 km2. In a wider sense, Lake Kasumigaura can also refer to a group of contiguous lakes, which includes Lake Kasumigaura proper, hereby referred to as , and two smaller lakes, and , and also encompasses the rivers connecting them. In this case the total area is 220 km2. About 45% of the land surrounding the lake is natural landscape and 43.5% is agricultural land. History Lake Kasumigaura originally was a brackish-water lagoon, with indirect connections to the Pacific Ocean via the Hitachigawa and Tone Rivers. In 1963, the construction of a gate near the confluence of these rivers disconnected the lake from its sources of ocean water. As a result, the salinity of Lake Kasumigaura declined, and today the lake contains fresh water. This lake was famous for its traditional fishery during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fishing Industry In China
China has one-fifth of the world's population and accounts for one-third of the world's reported fish production as well as two-thirds of the world's reported aquaculture production.FAO Fact sheetAquaculture in China and Asia It is also a major importer of seafood and the country's seafood market is estimated to grow to a market size worth US$53.5 Billion by 2027. China's 2005 reported catch of Wild fisheries, wild fish, caught in rivers, lakes, and the sea, was 17.1 million tonnes, far ahead of the second-ranked nation, the United States, which reported 4.9 million tonnes. The Chinese commercial fishing fleet is responsible for more illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing than that of any other nation. Aquaculture, the Fish farm, farming of fish in ponds, lakes and tanks, accounts for two-thirds of China's reported output. China's 2005 reported harvest was 32.4 million tonnes, more than 10 times that of the second-ranked nation, Fishing in India, India, which reported 2.8 mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cultured Pearl
Cultured pearls are pearls which are formed within a cultured pearl sac with human intervention in the interior of productive living molluscs in a variety of conditions depending upon the mollusc and the goals. Having the same material as natural pearls, cultured pearls can be cultivated in seawater or freshwater bodies. Over 95% of the pearls available on the market are cultured pearls. Development of a pearl A pearl is formed when the mantle tissue is injured by a parasite, an attack of a fish, or another event that damages the external fragile rim of the shell of a mollusk shell bivalve or gastropod. In response, the mantle tissue of the mollusk secretes nacre into the pearl sac, a cyst that forms during the healing process. Chemically speaking, this is calcium carbonate and a fibrous protein called conchiolin. As the nacre builds up in layers of minute aragonite tablets, it fills the growing pearl sac and eventually forms a pearl. Natural pearls are initiated in natu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hank (textile)
In the textile industry, a hank is a coiled or wrapped unit of yarn or twine, as opposed to other materials like thread or rope, as well as other forms such as ball, cone, bobbin (cylinder-like structure) spool, etc. This is often the best form for use with hand looms, compared to the cone form needed for power looms. Hanks come in varying lengths depending on the type of material and the manufacturer. For instance, a hank of linen is often , and a hank of cotton or silk is . While hanks may differ by manufacturer and by product, a skein is usually considered 1/6th of a hank (either by weight or by length). One source identifies a skein of stranded cotton as being , of tapestry wool as being , and crewel wool as being . In yarns for handcrafts, such as knitting or crochet, hanks are not a fixed length but are sold in units by weight, most commonly 50 grams (2 oz). Depending on the thickness of the strand as well as the inherent density of the material, hanks can range widely i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornmeal
Maize meal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize. It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Edition, Pg. 165, Barrons Educational Series Inc, 2001 In Mexico and Louisiana, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour. When fine cornmeal is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making arepas, tamales, and tortillas. Boiled cornmeal is called polenta in Italy and is also a traditional dish and bread substitute in Romania. Types There are various types of cornmeal: *''Blue cornmeal'' is light blue or violet in color. It is ground from whole blue corn and has a sweet flavor. The cornmeal consists of dried corn kernels that have been ground into a fine or medium texture. *''Steel-gro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raisin
A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the dark-colored dried large grape, with ''sultana (grape), sultana'' being a golden- or green-colored dried grape, and ''Zante currant, currant'' being a dried small Black Corinth seedless grape. Varieties Raisin varieties depend on the types of grapes used and appear in a variety of sizes and colors, including green, black, brown, purple, blue, and yellow. Seedless varieties include sultanas (the common American type is known as Thompson Seedless in the United States), Zante currants (black Corinthian raisins, ''Vitis vinifera'' L. var. Apyrena), and Flame Seedless, Flame grapes. Raisins are traditionally sun-dried but may also be artificially dehydrated. Golden raisins are created with a trea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cristaria Plicata
''Cristaria plicata'', the cockscomb pearl mussel, is a freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae. Distribution This species is native to northeast Asia and now also present in parts of southeast Asia. This large mussel is listed as endangered in South Korea. Biology The mitochondrial genome Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ... of this species was sequenced in 2011 or 2012. Human uses In China, this species is significant as "one of the most important freshwater mussels for pearl production in the country." It is used for medicinal purposes. References * Bogan, A. (2013). "FADA Bivalvia: World checklist of Freshwater Bivalvia Species" (version Jan 2013). In: ''Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life,'' 11 March 2013 (Roskov, Y.et al., e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearls
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate (mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite) in minute crystalline form, which has deposited in concentric layers. More commercially valuable pearls are perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality of natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, ''pearl'' has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable, and valuable. The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as ''natural'' pearls. ''Cultured'' or ''farmed'' pearls from Pinctada, pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nucleation
In thermodynamics, nucleation is the first step in the formation of either a new Phase (matter), thermodynamic phase or Crystal structure, structure via self-assembly or self-organization within a substance or mixture. Nucleation is typically defined to be the process that determines how long an observer has to wait before the new phase or self-organized structure appears. For example, if a volume of water is cooled (at atmospheric pressure) significantly below 0°C, it will tend to Freezing, freeze into ice, but volumes of water cooled only a few degrees below 0°C often stay completely free of ice for long periods (supercooling). At these conditions, nucleation of ice is either slow or does not occur at all. However, at lower temperatures nucleation is fast, and ice crystals appear after little or no delay. Nucleation is a common mechanism which generates first-order phase transitions, and it is the start of the process of forming a new thermodynamic phase. In contrast, new phas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heterosis
Heterosis, hybrid vigor, or outbreeding enhancement is the improved or increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring. An offspring is heterotic if its traits are enhanced as a result of mixing the genetic contributions of its parents. The heterotic offspring often has traits that are more than the simple addition of the parents' traits, and can be explained by Mendelian or non-Mendelian inheritance. Typical heterotic/hybrid traits of interest in agriculture are higher yield, quicker maturity, stability, drought tolerance etc. Definitions In proposing the term heterosis to replace the older term heterozygosis, G.H. Shull aimed to avoid limiting the term to the effects that can be explained by heterozygosity in Mendelian inheritance. Heterosis is often discussed as the opposite of inbreeding depression, although differences in these two concepts can be seen in evolutionary considerations such as the role of genetic variation or the effects of genetic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Latendresse
John Robert Latendresse (July 26, 1925 in South Dakota – July 23, 2000) was an American collector, known for being the "father of American cultured freshwater pearls". He left home at 13, and lying about his age, joined the U.S. Marines at 15, serving 38 months in the South Pacific during World War II. On his return he moved to Reno, Nevada, where he worked as a casino cashier. Latendresse founded the Tennessee Shell Company in 1954 to supply the shell fragments used to seed pearls to pearl farmers overseas, later founding the American Pearl Company in 1961 to import pearls from Japan. He began experimenting with culturing pearls in the United States resulting in him becoming the first successful North American freshwater pearl farmer and he has been voted one of the pearl industry's most important people of the century. Latendresse established the first experimental U.S. freshwater cultured pearl farm in Tennessee in 1963 which unfortunately was unsuccessful however it bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
